AT&T Music Format to Support QuickTime 4

AT&T Monday announced that its secure a2b music format has been modified to support Apple's QuickTime 4 multimedia files.

An alternative to the MP3 format, a2b is designed to let users listen to high-quality songs that can be downloaded quickly while protecting the copyrights of labels and artists.

AT&T said it will also develop an a2b music plug-in for QuickTime. Version 4 features "streaming" of live and stored video and audio over the Internet and is the first Internet streaming solution to use non-proprietary industry-standard RTP and RTSP protocols. It competes against media formats such as those from Real Networks and Microsoft.

"QuickTime 4 has quickly emerged as the most popular way to enjoy streamed video and audio over the web," said Phil Schiller, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "AT&T Labs' new format will help QuickTime users stay on the leading edge of digital music downloading."

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